BJJ has hundreds of submissions but only a handful of them carry their weight at white belt. These five give you a complete attack system from the most common positions, work in both gi and no gi, and stay relevant through every belt rank. Learn these properly before chasing flashier finishes and you will tap people who have a year more training than you.
1. The Rear Naked Choke
The single most reliable submission in all of grappling. Set up from back control, with both hooks in or with a body triangle. Slide your choking arm under your opponent’s chin so your bicep is on one side of their neck and your forearm is on the other. Lock your hand to the bicep of your other arm and place that other hand behind your opponent’s head. Squeeze and lift your choking arm.
Common mistakes · Squeezing too soon before your arm is properly under the chin. Crossing your feet when you have hooks in (gives your opponent an ankle lock). Forgetting to use your second hand to deny defence behind their head.
2. The Cross Collar Choke from Mount
The most reliable gi finish from mount and a foundational submission for understanding choke mechanics. Sit in mount. Reach your right hand deep into your opponent’s right collar, palm up, four fingers in. Your hand should be deep, around the back of their neck. Then reach your left hand into their left collar, palm down, sliding under your right arm. Drop your weight forward and squeeze the elbows together.
Common mistakes · First grip not deep enough. Trying to reach the second grip without committing your weight forward to keep mount. Pulling instead of squeezing.
3. The Armbar from Guard
The first attack a BJJ student usually learns from guard, and one that stays in your game forever. From closed guard, control one of your opponent’s wrists and underhook their arm with your same side hand. Open your guard and pivot your hips so your body forms a 90 degree angle with theirs. Place your top leg over their head, push their captured arm up against your hip, and slowly extend your hips up to finish the armbar.
Common mistakes · Not pivoting your hips before throwing the leg over. Letting your opponent’s elbow slide past your hip line during the finish. Bridging too hard and losing the position.
4. The Triangle Choke from Guard
One of the highest percentage submissions in BJJ when set up correctly. From closed guard, control your opponent’s wrists and break their posture. Push one of their arms across your body and trap the other against your chest. As they pull their trapped arm out, throw your same side leg over their shoulder and around their neck. Lock your other leg over your foot and squeeze.
Common mistakes · Not pulling your opponent’s head down before locking the triangle. Locking the triangle too high on the neck. Not pinching your knees together at the finish.
5. The Kimura
A shoulder lock that works from guard, side control, half guard, north south, and standing. Trap one of your opponent’s wrists with your hand on the same side. Reach your other arm over their elbow and grab your own wrist behind their shoulder. Lift their arm away from their body to apply the lock.
Common mistakes · Not securing the figure four grip tightly. Trying to lift the arm before you have the grip locked. Failing to control the opponent’s hip with your other leg, which lets them roll out of it.
Why These Five
These submissions cover every standard position you will spend time in as a white belt. Rear naked choke from back. Cross collar choke from mount. Armbar from guard. Triangle from guard. Kimura from anywhere. Together they give you a credible threat in every situation.
They also remain world class submissions at black belt level. Charles Oliveira finishes UFC fights with these exact five submissions. Roger Gracie won ten Mundials largely on the back of cross collar chokes from mount. Master these before you spend a year learning gogoplatas.
How to Drill These
Pick one submission and drill it 100 times in your next class. Slowly. Pay attention to the details that make it work. Then drill it on different sized partners. Then try it in live rolls against blue belts who know what is coming.
The fastest way to a tight submission game is repetition on a small number of moves, not exposure to a long list of techniques. Pick a few of these and become annoying with them.
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